


Daily Coffee

by thewickling (Diviana)



Category: S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV)
Genre: Coffee, Coffee Shops, M/M, university student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22331332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diviana/pseuds/thewickling
Summary: Several things happen and Zhan Yao doesn't connect the dots.
Relationships: Bai Yutong/Zhan Yao
Comments: 8
Kudos: 94





	Daily Coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarahyyy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahyyy/gifts).



Zhao Yao ducked out the chilly winter winds into a cafe. The streets around his university were littered with them, but this one was his favorite. Owned by a small family, they had the best nutty blend in town.

Pulling his messager back tight to his side, he stepped up to the counter. A steaming cafe au lait sat right by the register. The registered chimed.

“2—”

Narrowing his eyes, he said, “What if I ordered something different?”

“Kitty who stills buys one brand of cookies, one kind of soda, one type of bread, so picky, suddenly wants to try something new,” Bai Yutong scoffed. Rolling not just his eyes but his whole head, he held to-go cup away from Zhan Yao up in the air like a child bully taunting someone on the playground. “I’ll pour this out then.” 

_Wait,_ he gestured. He held up his card. “Can you talk this way to a customer?”

He shrugged in the arrogant, what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it way that said he wasn’t just not afraid but dismissive.

Shaking his head, he asked, “Why is a Young Master like you even working?”

“Free coffee?” He dropped the liquid heaven into Zhan Yao’s paws. 

Sipping at the lovely, hazelnut goodness, Zhan Yao finally felt alive. The heat warmed him inside out. The shock of energy revitalized his weary brain. Savoring the wonderful existence of caffeine, he grabbed his card and sat down. He settled in.

His laptop took up half the table and his various articles occupied the rest of the space. Lucky for him, the table in the corner was open. The space blocked the harsh sun and kept him from having to socialize with anyone even accidentally.

_Clink._

Looking up, he saw a scone on the edge of the table followed by an annoyingly familiar pair of legs. 

Yutong pointed to the counter. “On the house for the regular.”

“Oh. Thank whoever is in charge for me.” 

His stomach grumbled. The scone was a serendipitous occasion. If it arrived a second later, he would have been forced to scavenge for food in which case he might as well head back to his apartment and give up on finishing his assignments for the day.

Breaking off a bit, he nibbled. Orange and chocolate exploded on his taste buds. The dense texture coated his mouth. His stomach settled from the surprisingly filling snack.

* * *

Arriving in the cafe, he reached for a cup that wasn’t there. He froze. Scratching his neck, he mimed an apology.

“Your usual?” the barista asked, smiling.

He nodded, scanning the counter. There wasn’t a sign of Yutong. He didn’t notice until but Yutong was always working when he arrived. Zhan Yao typically spent lazing in bed so perhaps that was why he didn’t know today was the mouse’s day off. 

Money exchanged hands.

He resisted the urge to tap his foot as he waited. He needed his caffeine fix but he wasn’t going to be snappy to staff about it. The moment coffee touched his hand; he downed it. 

“Kr—” He gagged. Fanning his tongue, he glared at the coffee. He shuffled to an open table and begrudgingly waited for it cool. 

An agonizing minute later, he sipped gingerly. His burnt tongue protested the renewed heat. Now that he could taste it, he frowned.

 _Bitter,_ he thought. _Odd. Maybe burning my tongue affected the taste._

He arranged his belongings and dove into the six articles he needed to annotate before next lesson. 

Two hours later, his stomach screamed at him. It demanded he eat immediately. The gnawing emptiness zapped him of all ability to think.

Rubbing his temple, he sighed. He only finished half of what he wanted. Pushing everything into his bag, he marched to the nearest noodle shop that he liked. 

In the normal family restuarant, he sat down and ordered quickly. To make sure of his time, he tugged an article out of his bag. Before he read a single word, he caught a familiar voice from over the divider behind him.

Yutong said, “You just want to bum coffee off me.”

“Ah, why else would we be friends with the amazing young master Bai,” an annoying voice teased. “Of course we want coffee.”

“Beat me first,” he said and Zhan Yao could hear the smirk in his tone. 

“Bleh.”

A third voice piped in, “But seriously don’t you hate the stuff?”

“Yeah, but the person I like doesn’t.” He said in a blur. 

Zhan Yao quirked his head. Sending out a blessing for the poor soul who caught Yutong’s attention, he began his reading. 

**Author's Note:**

> Zhan Yao is smart just not with this. I swear.
> 
> I saw people doing birthday fics for sarah and wanted to do one quickly.


End file.
